Drivers of the global push for microcredentials in higher education: flexibility and employability in contemporary university systems

ABSTRACT The recent emergence of microcredentials, short courses leading to accreditation with an emphasis on work-aligned skills, is worthy of note due to its speed, scale and accompanying endorsement from governments and influential non-state actors worldwide. This paper analyses the reasons for this rapid growth which have been proposed in academic literature and policy documents, revealing a set of drivers associated with neoliberalism’s impact on higher education systems, such as the increasing demand for universities to offer vocational learning leading to improved employability outcomes. Beyond this, the global microcredentials landscape speaks to a wider conception of modern labour markets as markedly unstable and requiring great flexibility to navigate. The paper concludes with recommendations for higher education management practice in response to the microcredential boom in light of its underlying character.